21 year old carer

[ClareMJ]

Hi,
When I was 17 my mum was diagnosed with a form of early onset Alzheimer's called PCA. She was 56 at the time. I have struggled with finding people my age who are also going through a similar thing.

 

[Louise7]

Hello @ClareMJ and welcome, although sorry to hear of your situation, such a young age for your mum to be diagnosed and for you to take on a carer role. I hope that you have some support from family members, friends or professional carers as caring for someone with dementia is such a hard thing to deal with, both mentally and physically, particularly if you are on your own. This is a great place for getting friendly support from people who understand, and there are other younger carers here too who will hopefully reach out to you, but if there is anything specific that you'd like to talk about please post to let us know as there is a lot of shared experience here and people are happy to help.

 

[Kevinl]

Welcome to the site, you'll find a lot of help and support on here.
My wife got early onset az too and it got so bad that we/I packed the youngest of our children off to live with his big sister 100 and odd miles away in Newcastle, he was 16 at the time.
Living with someone with AZ isn't easy on anyone, when it's a parent must be so hard at a young age.
Our daughters been our youngest childs "mum" for more than half his life now and she's only 6 years older than him, she's made a pretty good job of it too, breaks my heart just thinking about what he had to put up with before the move and after for them both.
K

 

[chloefosters]

Hi,
When I was 17 my mum was diagnosed with a form of early onset Alzheimer's called PCA. She was 56 at the time. I have struggled with finding people my age who are also going through a similar thing.

hi clare i’m the exact same, im 17 and my mums got dementia would love to chat !!!

 

[Charlotte79]

Hi. My (ex) husband has Early onset dementia. He is 56 I am 44 and our daughter is 5yo. We have been separated for 2 years. Just before the diagnosis. We get on very well and he has the care of our daughter 3 days a week. Recently he is getting worse and the little one is getting reluctant to spend time with him .. she is also very protective of him and doesn't want me to tell him she is not keen to go. I am worried that at such a young age she is already taking responsabilities she should not have.... Anyone gone through this with such a young child and keen to share their experience? Feeling quite overwhelmed and worried . Thank you